Method for detecting and evaluating the conditions of vehicle movement dynamics for a motor vehicle

• US 6,988,395 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2000
• Issued: 01/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental AG
• Original Assignee: Continental AG, Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Goslar, Marius, Bleckmann, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAVIS, OCTAVIA L
• Application Number:
  US10/088,193
• Time in Patent Office: 1,958 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/70, 701/41, 701/81, 303/146, 280/5.507, 731/181, 324/207.21, 100/169
• US Class Current: 73/115.07
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2240/03 Tire sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/021 using purely analogue techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/20 for measuring wheel side-thrust

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a control circuit for detecting and evaluating the conditions of vehicle movement dynamics for a motor vehicle by means of wheel force sensors, preferably tire sensors, which take the preadjusted air slot between at least one rotating encoder and at least one pick-up for measuring data into account as a standard for the transverse forces that act on the wheel or on the tire. In order to reduce the errors in the evaluation of wheel forces, especially of deformations of the wheel rim and/or the tire detected by means of tire sensors, the air-slot-dependent operating point of the output signal of the pick-up for measuring data or a signal-conditioning device is set irrespective of the preadjustment of the said point which was made during predetermined driving behavior.

Claims

1. Method for detecting and evaluating the conditions of vehicle movement dynamics for a motor vehicle by means of a wheel force sensor, which operates across a preadjusted air slot and senses a rotating encoder attached to the vehicle tire or wheel, comprising the steps of:

a) operating the sensor under known conditions that result in minimal lateral forces exerted upon the rotating encoder,

b) measuring a signal generated by the sensor under the conditions of step a) and using that measured signal as a reference value by which to determine the presence of a transverse force on the wheel,

c) standardizing the measured signal to at least one nominal value when a driving behavior is stationary.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal is a sinusoidal alternating voltage or alternating current signal, and the nominal value is determined with each peak value of the half wave (amplitude) or with each alternation of a pole or marking of the encoder.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a value is associated with the nominal value which reproduces a zero point (offset) of the transverse force acting on the wheel or the tire.

4. Method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transverse forces are determined in dependence on the amplitude variations according to the relation ${\mathrm{Amp}}_{\mathrm{usefuleffect}}=\frac{\mathrm{Amp}}{{\mathrm{Amp}}_{\mathrm{no}}}$

 

⁢

minalvalue

wherein Amp=output signal (amplitude), Amp_{nominal value}=standardized output signal (nominal value), Amp_usefuleffect=ratio between the amplitude and the standardized nominal amplitude.

5. Method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the amplitude variations are attributed by means of the inverse function to changes in distance according to the relation ${\mathrm{Dis}}_{\mathrm{usefuleffect}}=k*\ln$

(AmpAmpnominalvalue)

wherein Dis_{useful effect}=changes in distance and k=negative constant.

6. Method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the transverse forces basically determined as a fiction of the changes in distance.

7. Method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the nominal value is maintained until the predetermined driving behavior is detected.

8. Control circuit for detecting and evaluating the conditions of vehicle movement dynamics for a motor vehicle by means of wheel force sensors, which take the preadjusted air gap between at least one rotating encoder and at least one pick-up for measuring data into account as a standard for the transverse forces that act on the wheel or on tire, comprising:

a determination unit which sets an operating point of the output signal of the pick-up irrespective the air gap,

means for standardizing the output signal to at least one nominal value when a vehicle movement behavior is stationary,

wherein the output signal of the pick-up is a sinusoidal alternating voltage or alternating current signal, and the determination unit determines the nominal value with each peak value of the half wave (amplitude) of the voltage or current signal or with each alternation of a pole or a marking of the encoder.

9. Control circuit as claimed in claim 8, further comprising means attributing a value to the nominal value which represents the zero point (offset) of the transverse force, and in that the determination unit determines transverse force in dependence on the amplitude variations according to the relation ${\mathrm{Amp}}_{\mathrm{usefuleffect}}=\frac{\mathrm{Amp}}{{\mathrm{Amp}}_{\mathrm{no}}}$

 

⁢

minalvalue

wherein Amp=output signal (amplitude), Amp_{nominal value}=standardized output signal (nominal value), Amp_usefuleffect=ratio between the amplitude and the standardized nominal amplitude.

10. Control circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the determination unit attributes the amplitude variations by means of an inverse function to changes in distance according to the relation ${\mathrm{Dis}}_{\mathrm{usefuleffect}}=k*\ln$

(AmpAmpnominalvalue)

wherein Dis_{useful effect}=changes in distance and k=negative constant.